Def Leppard vocalist Joe Elliott lamented David Coverdale’s recent announcement that he was retiring and that Whitesnake’s touring days had come to an end. Elliott is a big fan of Coverdale and his work with Deep Purple, Jimmy Page and Whitesnake. Elliott told Planet Rock that it was something sad to hear but expected.
Def Leppard’s Joe Elliott laments David Coverdale/Whitesnake retirement
“Okay, so hands up if, like me just a few days ago, you had a little bit of a tear in your eye when you saw Lord Coverdale make his retirement announcement.”
“Now myself and David go back a long, long way — 1981, to be precise. Def Leppard and Whitesnake toured together many, many times but I’ve known him since we were recording ‘High ‘N’ Dry’ (1981) and he was recording the album ‘Saints & Sinners’. He would allow me to pop into his studio and watch him sing and nurse me off the ledge when I was really struggling to do stuff with Mutt Lange. He was such a great guy and very generous with his brandy, let’s put it that way.”
“I was very sad to see (the) announcement but (it was) kind of expected, really. He’d done it. He’s been there and he’s done that and he deserves to spend some time with his family and just not worry about it anymore.”
“So, I’d like to celebrate my memories of David with this one song, which is where I came in, and it’s quite honestly one of the most emotional things that he ever did. So, on behalf of the world, David, if you’re listening, happy retirement,” Joe Elliott said.
Coverdale first achieved fame as a member of Deep Purple, being Ian Gillan replacement. A couple years later formed Whitesnake, his own successful band. With Purple he recorded three albums: “Burn” (1974)”Stormbringer” (1974) and “Come Taste the Band” (1975). With Whitesnake he recorded 13 studio albums, the final one being “Flesh & Blood,” released in 2019. The band sold an estimated amount of more than 18 million records worldwide.